The invention relates to circuit breaker devices, and more particularly to control circuits for remotely controllable, motorized circuit breakers.
Circuit breakers are typically found in load centers, service entrance boxes or auxiliary circuit panels and are generally intended for manual operation by humans. However, remote or automatic operation of the circuit breaker may be required or desirable in some applications. In these situations, a remotely controlled circuit breaker can be used. Remotely controlled circuit breakers generally include an electrically controlled actuator, such as a motor or solenoid, which operates a movable contact inside the circuit breaker in response to a remotely generated operating signal. A circuit breaker controller provides the remotely generated operating signal to activate the actuator, to switch the circuit breaker on or off.
The controller may be located inside the load center or at some remote location outside the load center. The controller can have one or more ports or terminal sets, each being connectable to the control wires of one remotely controlled circuit breaker. In its simplest form, the controller simultaneously controls the OPEN/CLOSE operation of the controlled contacts in all remotely controlled circuit breakers connected to the controller. In a more sophisticated controller, connected circuit breakers can be operated in a particular time sequence, connection sequence, or independently, depending on parameters provided in the controller's programming.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,598,629, issued 6 Oct. 2009, of common ownership herewith, describes one such remotely controllable, motorized circuit breaker. This device includes a DC motor configured to open and close the circuit breaker's contacts in response to externally supplied control signals. The described device, however, includes a controller circuit and power supply circuit that are external to the circuit breaker module. More tightly integrated devices are desirable.